“The Power of a Good Example” – Devotion for 10/12/2018

December 5, 2018

Noah and Lot both lived before a cataclysmic judgment. Noah was waiting for the Flood; Lot was waiting for the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, where he lived. Lot, however, didn’t reach his family like Noah did. Lot’s problem was that he compromised. He lowered his standards to extend his reach.

One day the angels of the Lord came to Lot and said, loose paraphrase, “You’ve got to get out of here with your family. Judgment is coming down fast.” But when Lot informed his daughters’ fiancés, they laughed in his face.

Lot, his wife, and their daughters basically had to be dragged by the hand out of the city. That’s why Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32 NKJV). As she was leaving Sodom, she was warned not to look back, but she did anyway. In the original language, the words that describe her looking back don’t indicate a quick look. Rather, she looked with longing.

Have you ever looked at something with longing? To put it another way, have you ever been at Krispy Kreme when the sign is lit up and the glazed doughnuts are coming down the conveyor belt? That’s how Lot’s wife looked at Sodom and Gomorrah, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

I find it interesting that Noah spoke and his family moved. But Lot spoke and his family laughed. What kind of an impact are you having on your family? How effective is your word as a parent? As a mother? As a father? World changers draw their families to Christ, but those who are changed by the world drive their families from Christ. We all have moments of inconsistency and even hypocrisy, but our children are watching us. They are looking to us as examples. Be a good one.